A Winter Wonderland Makes Everything Easier
by LifeLover22
Summary: This is my tenth one-shot for Zevie Month! Stevie has a secret that she can easily hide during the winter... what is it!


**Hello! This is my tenth one-shot for Zevie Month. Hope you enjoy!**

**ZANDER'S POV **

Everyone could about imagine how much it snowed in Brewster, California.

Let's just say, it doesn't snow every day.

So when does, everyone is ecstatic.

Not only did the principal let out school for this special occasion, but I also got to spend it with my best friend, Stevie Baskara.

As I walk up her front porch, she's coming out.

Shes wearing her coat, hat, gloves, and boots but no snow pants.

I'm not wearing snow pants either, but she can't lift me up and toss me in a snow bank.

"Hey, Steve's," I say following her down her steps.

"Hey, Z," she says wrapping her arm around my waist.

"So, what should we do this beautiful winter morning?" I asked her.

"I don't know. What were you thinking?" she counter-asked me.

I quickly scoop her up bridal style and throw her into a nearby snow bank.

She tried to wiggle out of my grasp but failed.

"Zander," she winced as she tried to stand up out of the pile.

She only fell deeper and deeper.

"Yes, Miss Stevie?" I asked laughing at her.

That instantly got her pissed.

"Zander. Get. Me. Out. Of. Here. NOW!" she screamed at me gradually getting louder.

I reached out my hand to help her up.

I should have known what she was up to.

Being the gentleman I am, I try to do a nice thing and how am I repaid?

I get repaid by being yanked into the snow bank next to Stevie.

She is hysterically laughing as I give her my best death glare.

It doesn't phase her though.

She starts spreading her arms and legs, in and out.

She then rolled over on top of me.

I gave her a confused look.

"What?" she asks. "I can't ruin my snow angel with hand and foot prints."

I just roll my eyes.

"Sometimes I really wonder what goes through that pretty little head of yours," I say looking Stevie in the eyes.

She sticks her tongue out at me as I shake my head.

"You're so mean and full of yourself," she says standing up.

"You know you love me," I say wrapping my arms around her waist.

She removes my arms and says, "Oh, did I mention you're also a big flirt?"

"I don't think flirting when the other person doesn't flirt back," I say raising my eyebrows.

"And now you're full of shit, too. You just keep making my list longer and longer," she says spinning around, walking up her steps.

"Where are you going?" I call after her.

"To get hot chocolate and unfreeze my butt since I was rudely tossed INTO THE SNOW!" she answers as she reaches her front door.

Opening it she asks, "You coming?"

"Well, of course," I say running up the steps, putting my hand on the small of her back.

She just rolls her eyes.

Thank God her brothers were either at work or with their girlfriends.

"Go start a movie while I make the cocoa," Stevie commanded.

"Yes ma'am," I say saluting her with a smile on my face.

She stares at me and makes her way into the kitchen.

When I find a movie I think Stevie might hate, I put it on and wait patiently for her to get back.

On her end table there was a family picture of her family just months before her parents died in a plane crash.

When I got tired of waiting, I walked into the kitchen to find Stevie sitting on the counter with both of her hot chocolates next to her, spacing out.

"Steves?" I ask standing in front of her.

She looks at me and wraps her legs and arms around me.

She places her head on my shoulder.

"What's the matter?" I ask pulling her close to me.

"I miss them so much," she says trying to bury her head deeper into the space between my neck and shoulder.

"I know, baby," I say softly as I stroke her head and back.

She quietly cries as I hold her tight, afraid that if I let her hoe she will completely shatter.

I don't know how long I held her, nor do I care.

All I care about is her being the normal Stevie again.

When she stopped crying, she put the hot chocolate into the microwave to reheat.

"I'm sorry, Z," she says facing the microwave.

I wrap my arms around her waist from behind, "Nobody can blame you for being sad, Steves."

"I know," she said leaning her head back so it was resting on my shoulder.

I kissed her head and waited for the hot chocolate to get done.

**STEVIE'S POV**

Honestly, I don't know what I have done to deserve such an amazing best friend.

Yeah, he was full of himself and ALWAYS flirted, but he was also kind and loving.

I can't understand how he hasn't found out my secret.

I know it shouldn't happen.

I know I shouldn't do it to myself.

But I do.

I try to hide it the best I know how.

Obviously, I'm pretty good at it, and it helps when it's the middle of winter so I have a good excuse to wear long sleeves.

Ever since my parents died I could never seem to find my place.

I don't do it because I hated life.

I, in fact, couldn't be happier with my life.

Except for the fact of my parents.

They were my rocks.

They were always there.

No matter how hard they tried, my brothers could only do so much for me.

They had their own lives to start.

That's why I have moved in with Kacey.

Mr. and Mrs. Simon have always loved me.

They're like my second parents.

Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for everything they have and will do for me, but it's become a habit.

Not just a habit; a routine.

One that I can't shake no matter how hard I try.

Recently, it's gotten worse.

Since I have an excuse to wear long sleeves, I don't see any reason to hold back.

What's really bad is that Kacey doesn't even notice when I look myself in the bathroom for an hour.

I was in the bathroom when Kacey knocked on the door, "Stevie, you almost done?"

No.

Instead fo speaking the truth I say, "Yeah, just a second."

I quickly hide my razor, grab some Kleenex, put it to my wrist, pulling my sleeve over the top of it.

I open the door, "Sorry."

"What takes you so long all the time?" Kacey asks.

Okay, maybe she does notice.

"Um, I just like to wash my face really well," I say awkwardly.

"Okay...," Kacey says looking me up and down.

Obviously she didn't believe me.

She closed the door anyway as I climbed into my bed.

Ever since I moved in we've had a bunk bed.

Kacey gets the bottom so she "doesn't roll off the bed," even if there is a side bar on it.

Sometimes when I can hear her breathing softer, I sneak out of the house and just lie in the snow.

This year has been snow-filled more than ever before.

I try to freeze to death, but then my mind goes back to normal, and I make my way back to bed.

Tonight I wasn't going to sleep.

My wrist hurt way too much.

I went back to the bathroom to get some pain reliever.

I shut the door, just being safe.

Glancing at my wrist, I swallowed the pills.

Overdosing is something I have and will never consider doing to myself.

That causes me no pain at all.

As I was standing there waiting for the pain reliever to take over, I reached for my razor.

Before I could bring it to my wrist, I dropped it into the sink.

I rub my head as I stand quietly, hoping nobody heard the clattering.

I couldn't hear anything or anyone.

I pick the razor out of the sink and bring it across my wrist.

Usually I stop after two or three cuts, but tonight, nothing was helping.

My eyes welled so that I couldn't even see.

I slid down the wall next to the sink and continued to take the razor across my skin.

All I remember after that is sobbing.

Loud enough that it causes Kacey to burst through the door.

Well, try, I locked it after I went into the bathroom.

"Stevie! Open the door!" I can hear Kacey yelling at me.

"Please, Stevie! Just unlock the door!"

They must have a key to the bathroom because just a few seconds later Kacey's kneeling next to me.

By that time I'm already going blank.

I see her grab her phone and call someone, speaking rapidly.

My head is getting fuzzy so I can't understand anything she's saying.

The very last think I remember before complete blackness is Zander running to me, wrapping me up in his arms.

Then nothing.

**KACEY'S POV**

When I found Stevie, there was only one thing that ran through my mind.

Call Zander.

As I sat in front of Stevie and dialed Zander.

I could tell Stevie wasn't doing well so I spoke as fast as I could.

When Zander arrived, I watched as he scooped Stevie's limp body into his arms, rocking her back and forth.

I couldn't believe I had never realized what Stevie was doing all those nights as she walked out of the bathroom with a pained expression.

As I sat next to Zander in her hospital room all I could think about was how Stevie could read me like a closed book, and I couldn't even read her open pages..

I watch as Kevin and Nelson sit across the bed from Zander and me, not even playing Furious Pigeons.

I just hope Zander isn't beating himself up too much about this.

**ZANDER'S POV**

I can't believe I never saw the signs.

I should have noticed why she was always pulling her sleeves lower on her arms, even if they couldn't go any lower.

Whenever I would hold her wrist to keep her from walking away, she would hesitate, clench her fists, and carefully remove her arm from my grasp.

I was the worst best friend in the world.

I'm not completely blaming myself for this. I might be a little, but more blame is going to that idiot that flipped her life completely backwards and upside down.

Three years ago Stevie was at my house when the unspeakable happened.

She got the call around 10:30.

When she hung up the phone, I could see in her eyes that something was wrong.

Her parents died on impact when the drunk pilot lost control of the plane, dumping it in the middle of a forest.

I stayed with her through all of it, and that's when I found out that she was my sole mate.

I thought she was doing better. Especially since she still had her brothers.

I knew she hated asking people for things, which is why, originally, I asked Stevie to live with my parents and me.

When her brothers got wind of that, they would have rather given Stevie a two-story box to live in than have her stay with me.

So, obviously, she went to stay with Kacey.

It's been three days since Stevie's incident, and she wasn't up yet.

Ever since Stevie has been in the hospital, Grace has been around more and more.

Nelson and Grace walk into the room after eating lunch in the cafeteria.

No one has left the hospital more than an hour at a time.

"Zander, I think you should go eat," Grace says.

"Thanks, Grace, but I'm not hungry," I reply staring at Stevie's face.

"Come on, buddy," Nelson said placing his hand on my shoulder. "You need some food."

I nod my head as I stand up.

I lean over and kiss Stevie's forehead before walking out the door.

I go to the cafeteria and get a ham sandwich and coke. I finish half of each and throw the rest away.

Walking back to Stevie's room, I can hear people talking.

About me.

"I hope he doesn't blame himself," I heard Kevin say.

Kacey and Kevin are back from their hour off.

"I know. He looks so vulnerable," Kacey replies.

"He hasn't even flirted with any off the cute nurses that have given him those looks," Nelson points out.

"He doesn't lift his eyes from her," Grace agrees.

It's quiet, so I decide that it's a good time to rejoin my friends.

Nobody brought up anything that they were talking about earlier.

By nine o'clock that night everybody had gone home for the night.

Leaving me with just Stevie.

Today, none of her brothers came to visit due to their college finals.

I was just sitting there looking at her beautiful face, her perfectly wavy hair, and finally, her scarred wrists.

No matter what she did to herself, she was still my beautiful and talented Stevie.

I picked up her hand and held it in my own.

All of a sudden I felt a squeeze.

Stevie just squeezed my hand!

I sat up a little straighter as her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, baby," I say softly, stroking her hair.

"Zander? Where am I?" she asked looking around the room confused.

"You're in the hospital, Steves. You lost a lot of blood."

Her eyes filled with horror and tears, "I'm sorry, Z. I just didn't know what else to do."

"Hey, you're alright," I say placing my hand on her cheek. "Don't apologize, just calm down. I'm going to find a nurse."

When I came back with a nurse, we found Stevie huddled underneath her blankets.

"Hello, Ms. Stevie. It's nice to see those beautiful eyes of yours," the nurse says soothingly.

While the nurse was checking Stevie, I texted Gravity 5, hoping Grace was with Nelson and her brothers.

When the nurse disappeared out the door I said, "We probably have about five minutes before everyone else gets here."

She nods her head and starts to say something.

I cut her off, "Why didn't you come to me for help?"

She looks me in the eyes.

"Because I didn't want to bother you. You're my best friend not my counselor."

"It would have saved us a lot of trouble."

I knew I shouldn't have said that, but it came out.

"I'm sorry, Steves. I just thought that we could tell each other anything."

"I thought so too until one thing popped into my head, well, heart, and I couldn't say anything about it."

I looked at her, confused.

Before she could explain, people burst through her door.

Kacey starts crying and runs to the embrace of Kevin.

I give Kevin a thumbs up.

He just shakes his head and bounces his eyes from Stevie to me.

I shake my head o.

Kevin interrupts all the crying and hugging.

"Hey, let's give Zander and Stevie a minute."

Everybody looks at him with mixed expressions.

The band has knowing looks, while Stevie's brothers have suspicious looks.

They glance at Stevie, and she nods her head.

They all give me warning looks before exiting the room.

"Well, that was chaos," I said smirking.

She laughed with me, "Yeah, just a little."

We sat in silence.

I finally get the nerve to break it.

"Steves?" I ask.

She turned her head to me, "Yeah, Z?"

"What were you talking about earlier with the heart and secret thing."

I could tell she was dreading this question.

"I-I...," she trailed off.

"Come on, Steves. You know you can tell me anything," I say getting a little scared.

She sighed and took a breath.

Speaking at the speed of light, she rattled, "I've fallen in love with you, Zander. You're my best friend, and I hope I'm yours. I know I can come to you with anything. I hope you understand why it was hard for me to tell-"

I cut her off, pressing my lips to hers.

"I love you, too," I say pulling away, putting my forehead against hers.

I smile at her and kiss her one more time.

"I guess we should tell them they can come in since they're probably eavesdropping anyway," Stevie whispered to me.

I help my finger up to my lips, telling her to stay quiet as I tiptoe to the door.

Stevie used her fingers to count down.

Three.

Two.

One.

She pointed to me as I flung the door open.

Everybody tumbled into the room giving us annoyed looks.

**STEVIE'S OV**

Zander and I laughed until our heads felt like they were going to fall off and our chests about to explode.

Soon enough everyone joined in.

I don't know why I thought nobody cared what happened to me.

I was obviously completely wrong.

The next day they were releasing me as long as I went to some therapy sessions.

I didn't have a problem with that.

I definitely needed a person to talk to about things that just made everyone else feel awkward.

Even some things made Zander awkward.

As I was walking out of the hospital with Zander's arm around my waist, I couldn't think of a way to make my life better.

I lean my head against Zander's shoulder and grab his hand that's wrapped around me.

"Did I ever mention that I love you," I say smiling into his eyes.

He smiles back, "You might have, but I think you need to prove it."

I roll my eyes.

Even after we started dating, he hasn't quit his fake flirting.

I oblige to his command, kissing him right there in the parking lot.

When we pull away and start walking again, I hear Zander whisper in my ear, "I love you, too, Steves."

I smile as he kisses the top of my head.

I might have made a mistake, but all mistakes work out in the end.

**Thanks for reading guys! Hope you liked it! This was not even close to how this story I planned this story to go. I planned it as a bunch of fun fluff in the snow but it turned dark and sad... oops! My next update for Zevie Month will be this weekend, and it will be another one-shot since I finished That Day at the Beach last weekend. Thanks again for taking the time to read this!**


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